My margaritas are fine with 82 degrees none have died. i would throw some ceriths in there see if that helps maybe up your hermit crabs also.

How long have you had the marg. snails for?

when i had the first tank they were in there for over 3 months. These new ones have been in there about 3 weeks now i think.

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Why not try a conch? Ever since i got mine my sand doesn't accumulate very much algae or ditritus at all.

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Not a great idea for a 10G. IMO.

You could borrow a conch. or buy a realy small one and trade it off when it outgrows the tank.

I recommend SMASHING your tank with a big HAMMER.

Or trying out Cerith/Nerite snails.

I'm going to pass on the conch and big hammer, as I'm pretty sure neither are great for a nano. :razz:

The tank is 8 months old, and I think part of the issue is removing desolved organics. I added a Lee's skimmer about a month ago, and water quality is steadily improving. In fact, after writing my original question, I've found my sand looking better and better for longer periods of time.

I think my approach will be to add 1 or 2 marg. & cerith snails (each), and wait again.

Thanks for all the answers.

Steve

Great thread Steve. I find that even though I don't have a big algae problem, the sand in my tank does get discolored over time and needs to be stirred... kind of a biofilm or something.
What would you guys recommend as a good sifting snail for a two gal nano... the smaller the better. Two or three enough for a tank like this?
I have a few stomatella in my home tank and really like them but I dont have a sandbed in that tank so i don't know how well they would be.
Thanks for your help!
- Chad